Chapter 158
For quite some time, Phantom Lord’s Guild Master, Jose Porla, had been quietly working toward a single goal.
The collapse of Fairy Tail.
The hostility between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail stretched back nearly a century, and Jose himself had never been able to stand Makarov.
That resentment had only deepened over the past several years as Fairy Tail’s growth accelerated at an almost ridiculous pace.
They weren’t merely completing more jobs and gaining fame.
They were quietly building businesses, expanding their economic influence, and establishing entire industries under the guild’s banner.
At the same time, they were making no effort to hide their growing influence within the Magic Council.
There were even rumors that the daughter of the Heartfilia family, the wealthiest family in Fiore, had secretly joined Fairy Tail.
Every new rumor irritated Jose more than the last.
Meanwhile, those idiots on the Magic Council seemed obsessed with investigating his magical research.
Jose had filed complaint after complaint about Fairy Tail, yet somehow the Council continued acting as if Makarov’s increasingly obvious ambitions were nothing to worry about.
’A bunch of useless fools.’
Jose could practically imagine the future already.
One day, Makarov was going to climb right over their heads, and by the time those old idiots realized what had happened, it would be too late to stop him.
The thought made Jose feel profoundly wronged.
If he didn’t find a way to destroy Fairy Tail now, there might come a point when Phantom Lord would never again have a realistic chance of surpassing them.
So for a long time, Jose had wanted an opportunity to strike.
Then that opportunity had presented itself.
Ivan Dreyar, Makarov’s own son and a former Fairy Tail member who had been expelled from the guild, came to him in secret.
Ivan offered the full cooperation of his dark guild, Raven Tail, in bringing Fairy Tail down.
More importantly, he guaranteed that Laxus would not participate in the coming conflict.
Jose didn’t think much of Ivan’s own strength, but free help was still free help. What truly mattered was the intelligence Ivan could provide from his years inside Fairy Tail.
According to him, Fairy Tail currently possessed six S-Class Mages.
In approximate order of strength, they were Gildarts, Laxus, Marshall, Erza, Mirajane, and Mystogan.
That information made Jose’s calculations extremely simple.
Gildarts, Fairy Tail’s strongest S-Class Mage, was nowhere near Magnolia.
Laxus, the second strongest, would leave with the Thunder God Tribe and stay out of the conflict entirely.
That left only four.
Of those four, Ivan described Marshall and Mystogan as academic-type Mages—technically gifted, highly knowledgeable, and useful in specialized situations, but not true frontline fighters.
In Jose’s mind, that meant Fairy Tail’s meaningful combat power had been reduced to two women:
Erza Scarlet and Mirajane Strauss.
Phantom Lord, by comparison, had five fighters at roughly S-Class level.
With Raven Tail secretly supporting them and Phantom Lord’s Superconductive Giant added to the equation, Jose could count nearly nine S-Class-level assets.
And that wasn’t even including Jose himself.
A Wizard Saint.
No matter how many times he ran the numbers, Jose couldn’t imagine how Phantom Lord could possibly lose.
This was the opportunity he had been waiting for.
As long as they eliminated Makarov, Fairy Tail would collapse.
Without its Guild Master anchoring the organization, there was no reason Phantom Lord should lose to what remained.
As for the Magic Council?
Jose wasn’t particularly worried.
Once everything was over, they could manufacture some convenient justification and bury the matter beneath paperwork.
Perhaps they could even use the Heartfilia girl as part of the excuse.
If handled properly, they might seize some portion of the Heartfilia fortune at the same time.
Destroy Fairy Tail and acquire enormous wealth in one move.
Two birds with one stone.
Jose was already beginning to imagine the aftermath: Phantom Lord rising unchallenged to become the most powerful Mage Guild in Ishgar, wealth and prestige pouring into his hands while the name Fairy Tail faded into history.
A wonderful future.
And then—
Every instinct in Jose’s body screamed at him!
Danger.
His expression changed instantly.
Jose’s position among the Ten Wizard Saints wasn’t decorative.
His magical senses spread outward almost immediately, and within a heartbeat he identified the source of the warning.
Above.
Something was approaching from the sky fast.
’What the hell is that?’
Jose sank into the shadows and reappeared on the roof of Phantom Lord’s headquarters.
The instant he looked upward, his face went pale.
More than a dozen enormous black iron pillars were screaming down from the sky straight toward him!
"What the—?!"
For one horrifying second, they looked less like falling debris and more like gigantic spears aimed directly at Phantom Lord.
"Shadow Veil!"
Jose instinctively threw up a defensive spell.
The first impact immediately told him that brute-force defense was a terrible idea.
These weren’t hollow magical constructs.
They were solid iron.
Each one carried a monstrous amount of momentum after falling from such an absurd altitude, and even Jose’s barrier strained under the impact.
His expression tightened.
Rather than stubbornly trying to stop them outright, Jose immediately changed tactics.
Darkness twisted around the descending pillars, altering their trajectories just enough to redirect them away from the central structure.
BOOM!
The first iron pillar slammed into the earth beside Phantom Lord.
Then another.
And another.
The ground shook violently with each impact.
Dirt and stone erupted outward as the massive projectiles buried themselves several meters deep.
By the time the final pillar struck, more than a dozen enormous iron rods stood embedded in the ground around Phantom Lord’s headquarters, forming a rough and very deliberate circle.
The guild itself had escaped serious damage.
The surrounding area had not.
The thunderous impacts were enough to send the entire headquarters into chaos.
"What the hell was THAT?!"
"Wait—aren’t those Gajeel’s iron pillars?!"
"Why are they falling out of the damn sky?!"
"Did that bastard betray us?!"
"Where’s Master Jose?!"
Jose stood on the roof, staring at the familiar iron constructs while rage steadily replaced his initial shock.
He knew exactly where they had come from.
"Fairy Tail..."
His teeth clenched so hard they nearly cracked.
"You dare to attack my guild?!"
Darkness rolled around him as his fury surged.
"YOU’RE DEAD!"
Whatever restraint Jose might have considered before vanished in that instant.
He was going to settle this with Fairy Tail once and for all!
...
Back in Magnolia, the atmosphere inside Fairy Tail was significantly less dramatic.
Everyone had watched the entire attack through Marshall’s Light Telescope, and when Jose successfully redirected the falling iron pillars away from Phantom Lord’s headquarters, the guild collectively groaned in disappointment.
"Aww, damn."
"Phantom Lord’s Master is tough."
"Well, he’s a Wizard Saint. Of course he’s not going to be easy to deal with."
"Still, what a waste. I thought the surprise attack might smash their guildhall the same way they smashed ours."
Someone slapped Marshall on the shoulder.
"You’ve still got a long way to go, kid!"
"Try harder next time!"
Marshall stared at him.
"..."
The projection disappeared.
"Well, congratulations."
Marshall folded his arms and looked around the guildhall.
"At this point, I think it’s safe to say our two guilds have officially stopped pretending to tolerate each other."
That earned several laughs.
Marshall continued more seriously, "So be careful when you’re out at night. Don’t wander around alone if you can avoid it. Phantom Lord already proved they’re willing to attack without warning, and I wouldn’t put it past them to start jumping isolated members."
Then his expression brightened.
"If any of you weak old guys get scared, send me a message. If you’re lucky, I might arrive quickly enough to laugh at you before saving you."
"YOU DAMN BRAT!"
"Nobody’s asking you for help!"
"Don’t underestimate Fairy Tail’s bonds!"
A beat passed.
Then Warren nervously raised his hand.
"So... anyone want to form a team with me before I go outside?"
He looked around hopefully.
"Preferably somebody really strong?"
Several people immediately rounded on him.
"WARREN YOU FUCK!"
"You’re embarrassing us!"
The threat of another guild war didn’t frighten Fairy Tail nearly as much as perhaps it should have.
To most of them, Phantom Lord had simply crossed a line.
And Fairy Tail had never been particularly good at being afraid of people who picked fights with them.
Marshall’s counterattack hadn’t caused the spectacular destruction everyone had hoped for, but at least they had returned the insult.
Combined with the fact that Reparo had already restored their own guildhall so perfectly that Phantom Lord’s attack had left no visible trace, everyone’s mood improved remarkably quickly.
Within an hour, people were drinking again.
Someone started a fight.
Someone else began singing.
The guildhall gradually returned to its usual noisy chaos.
Marshall, however, noticed Erza sitting somewhat apart from the commotion.
She seemed distracted again.
His eyes shifted thoughtfully.
They had barely spoken properly since that painfully awkward incident several days earlier, and Marshall was getting tired of it.
Since Phantom Lord had conveniently given everyone a legitimate reason to be cautious about traveling alone, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to break through the strange atmosphere between them.
Marshall floated over and gently tugged at Erza’s sleeve.
"Erza~"
Erza jolted slightly.
"Hm?"
Marshall looked up at her with his most shamelessly innocent expression.
"Phantom Lord dared to attack our guild, which means they’ve definitely investigated our members beforehand."
Erza listened.
"They might try something when people are alone," he continued. "So obviously, staying together is safer."
He stretched the last word slightly before smiling.
"Which means... how about we have everyone over at my place for the next few days?"
"It’s been ages since we all had a proper gathering."
Erza blinked.
"A gathering?"
"Mm-hmm."
Marshall nodded eagerly.
"We can invite everyone."
For a moment, Erza’s thoughts tangled again.
That unfamiliar fragrance she had noticed on Marshall earlier still bothered her for reasons she refused to examine too closely.
But avoiding him forever was obviously impossible.
And she had already spent several days telling herself that she needed to stop acting strangely.
So she nodded.
"O-Okay."
"No problem."
Marshall’s eyes immediately lit up.
He shot into the air and raised both arms dramatically.
"Attention, everyone!"
The guild slowly quieted.
"With Phantom Lord lurking around, traveling alone is extremely dangerous!"
Several people nodded.
"So all the pretty onee-sans are welcome to stay at my house and have a party for the next few days!"
Marshall puffed out his chest proudly.
"I’ll protect all of you!"
The response from Fairy Tail’s female members was surprisingly enthusiastic.
Before long, Marshall had somehow managed to leave the guild with more than half of its attractive young women following him!
Several of the men tried to tag along but Marshall dealt with them one at a time.
A hopeful young Mage approached first.
Marshall looked him up and down.
"Big bro, do you need little Marshall to protect you too?"
The man stopped walking.
Another tried his luck.
Marshall tilted his head.
"Wow. An adult man asking a kid to keep him safe? That’s kind of pathetic."
He quietly retreated.
A third simply attempted to join the group without saying anything.
Marshall glanced over.
"Are we close?"
The man turned around immediately.
It wasn’t that they physically couldn’t follow.
Their pride simply couldn’t survive the price of admission!
Within minutes, the rejected men had gathered together in the guildhall and spontaneously organized what amounted to an anti-Marshall support group.
Natsu and Gray became the loudest speakers.
After everything they had endured on Galuna Island, they finally had an audience willing to appreciate their suffering.
"And then that bastard tied us to crosses!"
Natsu slammed both hands onto the table.
"With his creepy penguin army!"
Gray pointed furiously.
"And he recorded the whole thing!"
"He made us argue over who was the weakest Mage in Fairy Tail!"
The story grew slightly more dramatic every time they repeated it.
Naturally, the surrounding guild members offered enormous sympathy.
Mostly in the form of laughter.
One older Mage wiped tears from his eyes.
"Marshall’s what, fourteen?"
He shook his head.
"And he already spends every day surrounded by pretty girls."
"I’m calling it now. Give that brat a few more years and he’s going to be the worst playboy in Fiore!"
Another man immediately pointed toward the door.
"I’ve been saying it for years!"
"That little bastard has to be Gildarts’s secret kid!"
"The resemblance is too perfect!"
A younger member collapsed dramatically across the table.
"This isn’t fair!"
"Every cute new girl who joins the guild ends up in Marshall’s fan clubs!"
"Do ordinary men like us have no hope left?!"
Bisca, sitting nearby, laughed awkwardly.
"Hehe... I’m more of a proud-big-sister fan when it comes to Marshall, so I think it’s fine."
Alzack immediately nodded.
"Exactly. That seems perfectly reasonable—"
The other men slowly turned toward him.
Alzack froze.
Someone pointed at him accusingly.
"ALZACK."
"You damn traitor."
"Get out of our organization!"
"Wait, what did I do?!"
"You betrayed all the boys!"
And just like that, while Phantom Lord prepared for war, Fairy Tail’s first serious strategic meeting of the day devolved into another shouting match!